It’ll open doors for you.
That’s what people say to convince you to seize an opportunity. Accept the chance, open the door, step on through, live your best life. It sounds amazing. It should be amazing. But as in the new book “Sunderworld, V-01: The Extraordinary Disappointments of Leopold Berry” by Ransom Riggs, you have to find the door first.
Pretty much ever since his Mom died, Leopold Berry has known that his father thought he was worthless. Richter told him that every chance he got. Richter called him “Larry,” which he knew Leopold hated. Larry Berry. Ugh.
Is it any wonder that Leopold spent every day when he was nine years old watching VHS tapes of a TV show his Mom made once? Back then, he memorized every word of Max’s Adventures in Sunderworld, and he saw his mother’s touch in the show.
He missed her then. He still did – but wasn’t it odd that the visions had come back now, eight years after she was gone? Sure, when he was obsessed with Sunderworld, seeing strange and unusual things that didn’t exist was normal-ish, but now? Even Elliott, Leopold’s best friend, said it was weird.
So imagine how freaked-out Elliott was on the night they found a rickety old trolleycar in a weed-filled Los Angeles park. They climbed in, it started to move, and when it stopped, they were in an episode of Sunderworld, in Sunder’s downtown, with a magic shop where they bought a focuser, a visitor’s center, and a place to buy portable holes. Billboards told them that there was an Aether shortage. Tumbleport stations were scattered everywhere. The whole place was familiar-not-familiar at all.
And yeah, the focuser was super-cheap, but Leopold was able to make it work enough to get Elliott excited when they learned that Sunder was looking for a new channeler.
Suddenly, all of Leopold’s dreams were coming together.
Just not like he’d dreamed they would, though…
Reading “Sunderworld V-01: The Extraordinary Disappointments of Leopold Berry” is a little like having a conversation with a very imaginative 4-year-old. You never really know where it’s going to take you or where the highs and lows will land; you just have to go with it. It makes no sense, which makes it oddly appealing, nonetheless. It’s weird and surprising and funny – and unforgettable.
That’s because Leopold is Everybody-At-Some-Point. Author Ransom Riggs presents him as unsure, aimless, overconfident sometimes, and awkward. He messes up: with girls, with friends, in public, at home. He’s so beat-down in his mind that he can’t see up anymore, which is the key to the story’s best part: readers ages 15-and-beyond (including adults!) will be able to absolutely identify with this unlikely hero tossed into a bizarre world.
Harry Potter fans, Miss Peregrine fans, take note.
If you’ve ever had a dream you think is dumb but life surprises you, then this new series is one you’ll want today. “Sunderworld V-01: The Extraordinary Disappointments of Leopold Berry” is a book to open and step on through.
“Sunderworld V-01: The Extraordinary Disappointments of Leopold Berry” by Ransom Riggs
c.2024, Dutton
$21.99
326 pages
